Case Number 05692

THE LITTLE RASCALS COLLECTION

The Charge

Whether you know them as The Little Rascals or Our Gang, they're still the
most entertaining bunch of kids ever to grace the silver screen.

Opening Statement

When most people hear the name of The Little Rascals, many think about
Alfalfa, Spanky, Buckwheat, and the gang. Those fans are going to be
disappointed with Passport Video's collection. Most of the shorts have been
culled from the silent Pathé Studios era, which were populated with the
likes of Farina, Fatty Joe Cobb, and Jackie Condon among others. Once the
initial disappointment fades away, those fans will find much to enjoy in this
compilation. The historical value is significant and the chance to see the often
hard to locate silent era goes a long way.

Facts of the Case

Eleven shorts -- seven silent and four sound -- have been compiled onto four
discs. On a scale of zero to four stars:

* Derby Day (1923) After watching a horse race, the Rascals
decide to get a piece of the action by staging their own faux race.
Rating: ****

* Stage Fright (1923) Farina and the Rascals are cast in a
school play and proceed to turn it upside down. Several minutes of footage are
missing from this short, causing much disjointedness. Rating: **

* The Sundown Limited (1924) Mickey (not the Mickey who
would become Robert Blake in later years) and Joe create their own railroad,
with disastrous results. Rating: ****

* The Buccaneers (also known as The Pirates; 1924) The
Rascals' homemade pirate ship sinks, and they take refuge on another boat. The
only problem is that the boat is headed for a showdown with the Navy. Footage is
missing from this short, causing some gaps in continuity. Rating: ***

* Mary, Queen of Tots (1925) Little Mary is bilked out of her
allowance by a vile nanny, leading to a fantasy of escape and revenge.
Rating: ****

* The Fourth Alarm (1926) After putting out a small fire, the
Rascals open their own fire department. Rating: ***1/2

* School's Out (1930) Little Jackie Cooper doesn't want to see
Miss Crabtree leave. When he mistakes her brother for a potential suitor, he and
the kids decide to intervene. Rating: ****

* Bear Shooters (1930) A camping trip ends in havoc when a
crook in a bear suit is mistaken for the real thing. Rating: ****

* Our Gang Follies of 1938 (1937) Alfalfa wants to stop
crooning and become a tenor in this short that gives new meaning to the maxim
"Be careful what you wish for." Rating: ***1/2

* Waldo's Last Stand (1940) Alfalfa decides to help Waldo perk
up his dwindling lemonade business by staging a revue. Robert Blake, then known
under his real name of Mickey Gutobsi, appears prominently. Rating:
***1/2

The Evidence

Some may wonder why the gang is often referred to as The Little Rascals
although the on-screen credits refer to them as either "Our Gang" or
"Hal Roach presents His Rascals." When the series first began at
Pathé Studios as a group of silent comedies, they were called the latter.
After the series switched to sound, they reverted to the popular "Our
Gang" moniker. When the shorts were sold for television in 1940, MGM
refused to allow the "Our Gang" name to be used, because theatrical
shorts were still being produced. As a result of MGM's stand, the name "The
Little Rascals" was created, and that is how these shorts became known from
then on.

No deep analysis is required for entertainment such as The Little
Rascals/Our Gang. The premise remains similar throughout; a bunch of
innocent children getting into all sorts of predicaments, often unintentionally
and with the sincerest intentions. What is remarkable about these shorts is how
the comedy is allowed to grow organically out of the situation and characters
rather than being set up in a series of stale punch lines. There is a timeless
quality to all these shorts, despite their being set in specific time periods.
The reason is simple: Even as times change, there will always be children
getting into the hair of adults everywhere. That never changes.

The child actors are simply amazing. They bring a natural quality that is so
often lacking with today's child crowd. I have grown so tired of the
wise-beyond-their-years type that always has a quick remark. What is refreshing
about the children featured in this series is the innocence and sweetness they
have, even during some of the darker moments and characterizations. My favorite
Rascal has always been Jackie Cooper (best known as Perry White in the
Superman films), who plays the cantankerous malcontent to perfection. All
of the children are skilled performers whose performances are so natural and
unaffected that it doesn't seem like they are acting. A lot of the credit goes
to producer Hal Roach and longtime director Robert McGowan for tapping into
their inner child to elicit these fine performances.

The Little Rascals Collection is brought to you by Passport Video, a
studio specializing in releases of public-domain material (free of copyrights).
The quality of public-domain prints tends to vary from source to source, and it
is important to keep this in mind when viewing the eleven shorts that make up
this collection. Some of the transfers, such as Derby Day, Dogs of
War, and Bear Shooters look beautiful considering their age. Others,
such as Stage Fright and The Buccaneers, look absolutely
atrocious. The transfers all suffer from the telltale signs of age: blemishes,
thick grain, flickering, and other assorted imperfections; these vary from short
to short. I give the video a high score of 85 because Passport's work on this
title far exceeds anything they have done before or since.

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. The audio is excellent for a
public-domain release. While there are the expected aural defects such as
crackling, hiss, and popping, they are not as plentiful or overwhelming as one
would expect from a Passport Video release. The reason may lie in the fact that
most of the silent shorts have a new organ score plastered onto the soundtrack.
The remaining sound shorts vary from excellent to passable in quality.

Although they are not listed as extra content, the fifth disc contains two
items that should be considered as such. "Our Gang Reunion" (1950) is
a five-minute segment culled from the then-hit talk show You Asked for
It. The sole virtue is the novelty value of seeing the child actors grown
up, but that is virtue enough. Kid Stuff: Inside Hollywood's Child Stars
(1992) is a 45-minute documentary that purports to take an in-depth look at the
child stars of yesteryear. It is nothing more than a cut-and-paste job, however,
with interviews and historical footage thrown together with little thought and
feeling. The sole connection between this documentary and the subject matter is
an all too brief interview with Tommy "Butch" Bond, who doesn't appear
in a single short featured in this collection. If you have purchased Passport's
sister release The Shirley Temple Collection, be prepared for a case of
déja vu, as this miserable documentary also appears in that collection.

Closing Statement

Passport Video's five-disc collection is both satisfying and frustrating. It
gathers together a decent sampling of the rarely seen Pathé-era shorts,
many of which have not been seen in almost four decades. The more familiar
Rascals are not as well represented, but the four shorts included that feature
them are among the best in their vast canon. The set falters with the terrible
documentary and the uneven video and audio quality. Casual Rascals fans will
wonder why more Alfalfa-Spanky-era adventures aren't offered in this collection.
This set is aimed more toward hardcore Rascals fans who are curious about the
Pathé years. Nevertheless, I recommend that both sides pick this set
up.